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What Trent-Alexander Arnold could add to Real Madrid at the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup and beyond

The news that Trent Alexander-Arnold will leave Liverpool when his contract expires at the end of the season came as a surprise to no one when the England star confirmed his impending Anfield exit via social media on May 5.

Although the 26-year-old’s farewell post gave no indication of which club he will join when he departs his boyhood side, it is football’s biggest open secret that he has agreed terms on a switch to Real Madrid ahead of next season.

But if the 15-time European champions get their way, Alexander-Arnold could be lining up in their famous all-white kit significantly sooner than that.

According to The Telegraph, Madrid are planning to approach Liverpool with the aim of negotiating an earlier-than-expected exit for the star full-back in order to have him on board for their FIFA Club World Cup campaign in the United States, which they will begin with a group-stage fixture against Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal on 18 June.

It remains to be seen whether Liverpool will acquiesce to Madrid’s outlandish request, perhaps enticed by the prospect of saving around a month’s worth of the player’s salary.

Read next | Extra transfer window for 2025 FIFA Club World Cup: How does it work and why is it needed?

But if Alexander-Arnold becomes a Real Madrid player in time for the Club World Cup, what kind of impact will he have?

When he arrives at the Bernabeu for the 2025-26 La Liga and Champions League campaigns, Alexander-Arnold’s main positional rival will be the veteran Dani Carvajal.

The 36-year-old Spain international has established a reputation as one of the best right-backs of his generation across a career that has seen him win four La Liga titles and six Champions Leagues with Los Blancos.

But Carvajal suffered a torn ACL in October, which ruled him out for the remainder of the current campaign. In his absence, another Madrid and Spain veteran has filled the void on the right side of Carlo Ancelotti’s back four – albeit one who is far less accustomed to the role.

A winger by trade, Lucas Vazquez had performed admirably since being repurposed as a right-back. Always a diligent worker in his off-ball duties, the rapid and diminutive attacker has proved disciplined and attentive as a defender.

And while, at age 33, the four-time La Liga winner is not as quick across the turf as he once was, he still carries plenty of threat going forward.

But the most obvious advantage adding Alexander-Arnold immediately offers is a more natural fit for the position.

FC Liverpool Alexander-Arnold Champions League Übertragung

Although Alexander-Arnold is himself a converted midfielder, he’s been operating predominantly as a full-back since he was in Liverpool’s academy. With the exception of a brief foray as a central midfielder for England at Euro 2024 and in the latter stages of Jurgen Klopp’s Anfield reign, right-back has been his home for the entirety of his senior career.

And while Alexander-Arnold is far from a perfect player in the position, what he brings to the role with his vision and technique far outweighs any weaknesses in his defending. Furthermore, at a robust 5-foot-11 and with nearly a decade’s experience battling opposing wingers in one-v-one duels, he is less likely to be physically exploited than Vazquez.

Above all, though, what Alexander-Arnold will bring to Madrid as a playmaker is where he will shine brightest and could potentially be a transformational addition.

The 33-cap England star’s range of passing, ability to thread through-balls between multiple defenders to unleash rapid attackers – be it Mohamed Salah or Kylian Mbappe – is unlike any other full-back in football.

With the comfort to help dictate play from deep or to operate in higher positions as an auxiliary creative midfielder, he could make Madrid’s already potent attack even more fearsome.

In La Liga this season, Vazquez has logged five assists and scored one goal in 30 appearances.

Alexander-Arnold has provided six assists and three goals in 32 games. And this return marks an unusually low level of productivity for the Liverpool-born player. He has reached double figures for assists in three seasons during his career thus far, something Vazquez has never achieved, even as a winger.

And Alexander-Arnold’s superior creativity is also backed up by the underlying statistics.

The chances Vazquez has created this season have, on average, been worth 0.2 expected assisted goals (xAG) per 90 minutes in La Liga. Alexander-Arnold’s average in the Premier League this term has been 0.26 xAG.

Since the 2017-18 season, Vazquez has only once produced an xAG per 90 average as high as 0.26, while Alexander-Arnold routinely exceeds that rate, with a peak of 0.38 xAG per 90 in the 2021-22 campaign.

Stylistically, the two players’ approach creating chances for teammates in different ways. Vazquez has a more conventional style of wing play, seeking to beat his opposing defender on the outside before delivering crosses and cut-backs from the byline.

Alexander-Arnold, on the other hand, is as dangerous from deeper zones as he is in and around the penalty area, able to launch counter-attacks with raking cross-field balls, pierce defences with threaded passes or cross accurately from high and wide.

Conversely, Vazquez might be a comfier immediate fit should Madrid land the other top target they’re hoping to on-board ahead of the Club World Cup – Xabi Alonso.

The Spanish tactician has announced his plans to step down as Bayer Leverkusen manager and Madrid are reportedly hopeful of having him take over from Ancelotti before they head to the US, too.

At Leverkusen, Alonso upset Bayern Munich’s Bundesliga dominance by crafting a 3-4-3 style that proved unbeatable as they marched to a title a year ago.

If he intends to replicate that system at Madrid, Vazquez’s linear style of wide play is more akin to that of Jeremie Frimpong – the Dutch wing-back who shone for Alonso’s side and is reportedly Liverpool’s top target to replace Alexander Arnold – than the Englishman’s unique approach to the position.

However, it’s easy to envision how Alexander-Arnold’s vast attacking skillset could be further unleashed with the diminished defensive responsibility afforded in a wing-back role.

Whenever he arrives, Alexander-Arnold has the potential to revolutionise Real Madrid’s right side.

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